Posts that describe basic music concepts
One of the big things about playing music with a musical instrument is that it is not only an art, but it is also a craft. Webster’s dictionary defines craft as “an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill.” Although this might sound obvious, one of the implications is that you are required …
Karl Marx (1819-83) said “Practice without Theory is blind, Theory without practice is sterile.” So what does that have to do with guitar? In a sense: everything; that is, if you are serious about becoming a better guitarist and musician. Although I am taking Marx a little out of context, this is a great philosophy …
Practice without Theory is blind, Theory without practice is sterile. Read More »
I cannot overemphasise the importance of learning and practicing a piece slowly. Although it is very tempting to try and get the piece up to a higher speed, don’t do it! If you keep practicing the mistakes, you will get good at them (the mistakes that is). If you practice something slowly and get it …
When working on a rhythm in a melody, it is a great idea to clap a few bars over and over, looping where you can. This way you are removing one entire level of complexity in learning it, i.e. the pitch, and reinforcing the movement through time. I still use this technique all the time. …
When learning and playing a piece of music, it is more important to get the rhythm working than it is to get the exact chords or notes in the melody. The rhythm is what actually carries the music along. If you hit a bad note, it is not nearly as noticeable as screwing up the …
